Without the right to bear arms, we will surely lose our freedom

By Larry Nickels - Morris

Jan. 8, 2013

Dear Editor,

It is very disgusting to me when politicians attempt to use a very real tragedy to further their own agenda. Our Illinois politicians are trying to take away our constitutionally protected gun rights because of the actions of a seemingly mentally disturbed individual.

When our nation was founded, we had just fought a very long and costly war for independence against the most powerful nation at that time. The original documents of our founding were the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation. The Declaration listed the grievances and abuses of the over reaching British government that sparked the war for independence and the Articles of Confederation was the original governing document for our country. The Articles of Confederation was intentionally very weak and did not give much power to the government.

The founders realized they needed a stronger governing document, but still wanted to limit the power of the government so that the people would have the maximum amount of freedom. The document they developed was the current U.S. Constitution, which only gave the government 17 powers. Anything not specifically listed was reserved for the states or individuals.

Some of the founders objected, fearing that in the future our government would grab more and more power and our freedoms would be lost. So they compromised and added the first 10 Amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, to the constitution. The Bill of Rights is what guarantees your individual rights. Among these is the 2nd Amendment, which provides for individuals to own firearms and establish militias.

It is the 2nd Amendment that provides the teeth to keep the other nine amendments and thus our individual freedom and liberty. If we Americans lose the ability to keep and bear arms, we will surely lose our freedom.

Our Constitution and Bill of Rights has been and will continue to be under attack from those who want to dominate us. Please don’t let this happen. Support individual gun rights, and don’t be misled by the enemies of your freedom.